At The Home Depot, we've long embraced recycling as part of our commitment to sustainability. We offer in-store recycling programs for items like batteries, cardboard and even plastic bags, helping you recycle these materials safely and responsibly.
You may know about our in-store customer takeback recycling services for rechargeable batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs and plastic bags, but there's more to our recycling story. Learn how we are recycling metal, hard plastics, and expanded polystyrene foam along with plastic film and cardboard.
Take them to the recycling centre. If there isn't one, you can cut them up into small pieces and dig a hole for them. Cardboard is biodegradable.
Cardboard boxes can be repurposed in several practical ways around the house without the need for crafts. One simple way is to use them for storage, organizing items like seasonal clothes, books, or old paperwork in closets, basements, or attics.
They sell them to a recycling company and make a couple hundred per cardboard 'bale' made. It's cutting in to their profit to give them away. A lot of people haven't realized that recyclables are a commodity, they're not treated like trash any more.
Why is it important to flatten cardboard boxes before placing them in my container? Cardboard boxes take up a lot of space. Breaking them down, or flattening them before placing them in the curbside or drop off container saves space and creates additional capacity to recycle even more items.
If you're throwing away your cardboard waste, you're potentially missing out on a valuable revenue-generating opportunity. Recycling companies are ready to pay for the very cardboard you're getting rid of, turning your waste into cash.
Cardboard moving boxes are easily recyclable, if you want to simply get rid of your moving boxes, recycle them. Recycling cardboard is effective, helps the environment, and reduces the cardboard waste that stacks up in landfills. Recycling also conserves water and reduces energy consumption.
At the entrance of every Home Depot store is a recycling station where we accept batteries, CFL bulbs and plastic shopping bags.
In addition to the recycling center, other sustainability efforts that Lowe's has taken include a pallet recycling program, now in its fifth year. The company says that it recycled more than 166,000 tons of wood pallets last year, as well as 147,000 tons of cardboard and nearly 400 tons of shrink wrap.
Acceptable items include: Monitors, fax machines, desktop and laptop computers, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, telephones, digital cameras, VCR/DVD players, televisions, cords and cables.
Fortunately, the vast majority of the paper and cardboard that we use on a daily basis can be recycled. Generally, as long as it's not lined with a plastic film, coated with wax, or covered in embellishments like glitter, velvet or foil, it's accepted.
Cardboard may have a positive return in some months, while the value may be more limited in other months. However, recycling corrugated cardboard can save money in other ways, even if there is no demand for recycled cardboard. Sometimes, the cost of recycling is less than the cost of hauling and landfill fees.
You do not have to remove tape or labels – the recycling process will remove these for you.
Cardboard Recycling Preparation
You don't need to remove the tape, but most recyclers prefer that boxes are flattened to save space. For boxes that contained huge items, you may need to fold or cut the flattened box in half for it to fit in your recycling cart.
Cardboard & corrugated boxes can ALWAYS be flattened.
One easy way: always flatten your boxes. Benefits of breaking down cardboard and corrugated boxes: Gives you more room in your recycling bin. Limits recyclables getting lodged in your bin during collection.
We accept all brands of packaging at the Community Recycling Unit, regardless of where they were purchased.
Earning Money from Your Cardboard Waste: A Win-Win Situation
Many commercial recycling services offer incentives or rebates based on the volume of cardboard you recycle. This means that not only are you reducing waste and contributing to a greener planet, but you can also make extra money in the process.
Save some cash and get packing boxes from your local supermarket. Most supermarkets will happily give used cardboard boxes and packaging to you for free. Choose boxes used for transporting fruit or alcohol, as long as there haven't been any spillages, as these tend to be the strongest.
The material is shredded and pulped. The pulp is filtered to remove contaminants. The pulp is dried and “finished” into sheets of paper again. Specialist equipment manufactures new cardboard material.
Do Milk Cartons Go into the Paper or Plastic Recycling Bin? Because they contain a thin polyethylene layer, cartons should go into the plastic bin, not paper. However, some programs don't require presorting.